212 
THE CARE SWING WORLD 
December 3, 1892. 
THE JUDGES AT THE INTERNATIONAL 
HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION. 
See Supplement.'] 
We have much pleasure in presenting our readers 
this week with a portrait group of the judges ap¬ 
pointed to make the awards to the permanent 
exhibits at the International Horticultural Exhi¬ 
bition held at Earl’s Court during the past summer, 
and which we doubt not will be welcomed as a 
souvenir of the exhibition by those who in any way 
assisted in making it a success, and perhaps equally 
so by those distant readers to whom the distinguished 
horticulturists whose portraits are given are known 
by name and repute only. 
In the centre of the group is that prince of decora¬ 
tive florists, Mr. John Wills, of the firm of Wills & 
Segar, Onslow Crescent, South Kensington. Mr. 
Wills is a Somersetshire man by birth, and while 
gardener many years ago to Sir Philip Malpas de 
Grey Egerton, at Oulton Park, Cheshire, and sub¬ 
sequently to Captain Starkie, at Huntroyde Park, 
Lancashire, made a name for himself that became a 
household word among gardeners as the introducer 
of Viola cornuta as a bedding plant into English 
flower gardens, and as the raiser of a number of fine 
Golden tricolor and bicolor Pelargoniums, and 
other bedding plants at the time when bedding out 
was just becoming a mania. Coming south to 
London some twenty-five years or more ago, Mr. 
Wills quickly came to the front as a floral decorator ; 
he may indeed be said to be the father of this parti¬ 
cular line of business, and his work has never been 
excelled. This is not the time to recount what John 
Wills has done for the decorative phase of British 
horticulture, but certain it is that gardeners in 
general, and market growers in particular, owe him 
a deep debt of gratitude, the one class for the in¬ 
numerable and invaluable lessons he has taught 
them in the decorative art, and the other for the im¬ 
mense impetus which his demands for decorative 
materials has given to their business. Our genial, 
kind-hearted old friend does not now take any great 
interest in public matters connected with horticulture, 
but the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund, of which he is a 
member of the Executive Committee, and the 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution still happily 
number him among their most generous supporters. 
On Mr. Wills’ left is Mr. Harry Turner, of the 
Royal Nursery, Slough, a worthy son of a worthy 
sire, and a gentleman to whom the exhibition 
authorities are greatly indebted for constant and 
loyal co-operation in the organisation and manage¬ 
ment of the flower shows. A keen florist, and a 
good worker in the horticultural vineyard is Mr. 
Harry Turner, and to know him in private life is to 
greatly respect him, for he is good hearted, a good 
musician and a man of most amiable disposition. 
Next to Mr. Turner sits the Chairman of the 
Floral Committee of theRoyal Horticultural Society, 
and Chairman of the Gardeners' Orphan Fund Com¬ 
mittee, Mr.William Marshall, of Auchinraith, Bexley. 
Mr.Marshall has all his life been a devoted worshipper 
at the shrines of horticulture and entomology, and 
takes as keen an interest in his British Ferns and 
hardy plants now as he did with his Orchids when 
he was winning prizes with them thirty years ago. 
Mr. Marshall was for some years a member of the 
Council of the Royal Horticultural Society at the 
time when the provincial shows of the society were 
paying and successful ventures, thanks largely to his 
business tact and capacity and unbounded energy. 
Mr. Marshall was also one of the founders, and one 
of the original trustees of the United Horticultural 
Provident and Benefit Society, and his warm 
heartedness, bonhomie, perfect impartiality, and 
business capacity make him an ideal Chairman of 
the Orphan Fund. In connection with the Interna¬ 
tional Exhibition Mr. Marshall accepted an 
honorary office as guide, philosopher, and friend, in 
the matter of selecting the judges and looking after 
that section of the work generally, and how well 
those important duties were discharged by him goes 
without saying, for a better man could not have been 
found for the post. On Mr. Marshall’s left is Mr. 
George A. Sims, Land Steward to Baron Ferdinand 
de Rothschild, M.P., at Waddesdon, near Aylesbury, 
whose service he entered some eighteen years ago as 
gardener, 
On Mr. Wills' right is Mr. Henry Williams, only 
son of the late much-respected Mr. B. S. Williams, 
of the Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, Upper 
Holloway, and now the proprietor of that famous 
establishment. Mr. Williams closely follows in the 
footsteps of his revered father, and he cannot have 
a better model. He is a member of the Committee 
of the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution and 
of the Orchid Committee of the R.H.S. ; he has 
also served on the Committee of the Gardeners’ 
Orphan Fund, and can always be depended upon for 
willing aid in the case of the charities Mr. Wil¬ 
liams as an exhibitor greatly assisted the Earl’s 
Court authorities, and his house of Orchids and 
insectivorous plants was one of the permanent and 
most interesting horticultural features of the exhibi¬ 
tion. 
Mr. George Cooke is gardener to W. E. B. 
Farnham, Esq., Quorndon House, Loughborough, 
Leicestershire, and a man of excellent parts. He is 
a sound practitioner in all departments, and specially 
successful in the cultivation of Orchids and Pitcher- 
p’ants, of which latter most interesting tribe he has 
been successful in raising some fine hybrids. Next 
to Mr. Cooke is Mr. A. Mackellar, gardener to 
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales at Sandringham, and 
formerly gardener to the late Duke of Roxburgh at 
Floors Castle, Kelso, and who is claimed by those 
familar with his work to be one of the smartest 
young gardeners who ever came out of Scotland. 
Behind him stands Mr. James Boyd, jun., of the 
firm of James Boyd & Sons, horticultural builders 
and heating engineers, of Paisley, and a man of rare 
ability in his profession. In all parts of the country 
is to be found substantial evidence of the good work 
of Mr. Boyd and his firm, and, may we add, not a 
few of our young friend's puns, for he is an invete¬ 
rate punster when in the mood. 
Mr. Owen Thomas, as gardener to the Queen at 
Windsor, is the right man in the right place. As 
gardener at Drayton Manor, at Impney Hall, and 
subsequently at princely Chatsworth, he displayed 
excellent capacity as a cultivator, and this ability, 
with his rare tact and unfailing courtesy, are qualifi-' 
cations which stand him in good stead in the honour¬ 
able position which he now holds. Mr. Peter Blair is 
gardener to the Duke of Sutherland, at Trentham, 
and son of that very worthy old gardener, Mr. Blair, 
of Shrubland Park. He was formerly with Messrs. 
Veitch & Sons, at Chelsea, and succeeded the late 
Mr. Zadok Stevens at Trentham, where by his skill 
and assiduity he has made a name for himself as a 
gardener of which any young man may be proud. 
Mr. F. Sanders, of St. Albans, is the " Orchid King,” 
well known throughout Europe and in many other 
parts of the world as the largest importer of Orchids 
of his generation. Orchids have passed through his 
hands in untold numbers, and the names of the new 
things which have been introduced by him and his 
collectors are legion—certainly far too many to be 
enumerated here. Mr. William Iceton is the pro¬ 
prietor of the Granard Nurseries, Putney Park Lane, 
S.W., whose specialty is Palms, of which he has 
always a superb stock. Though he received no 
early training in his business, he took to plant culti¬ 
vating as a duck takes to water, and was the first to 
do Palms in large quantities in this country. He 
annually forces such things as Lily of the Valley in 
immense quantities, and, besides Palms, grows a 
large number of other useful decorative subjects, 
and grows them well, none better. 
Mr. A. F. Barron, of Chiswick, is perhaps more 
widely known and respected than any other horti¬ 
culturist in Great Britain, and that is saying a great 
deal, but not too much. For some thirty years he 
has been superintendent of the Royal Horticultural 
Society's Gardens, secretary of the Fruit Committee, 
and manager of the society's exhibitions, a position 
requiring a wide range of knowledge, a cool head, 
and good temper under all circumstances, and these 
are qualities which Mr. Barron possesses in an 
eminent degree, and which have gained for him the 
friendship and esteem of all who know his sterling 
worth. Fortunate indeed were the promoters of the 
Gardeners' Orphan Fund in inducing Mr. Barron to 
undertake the honorary duties of secretary, and well 
was it too for the poor orphans, for very largely 
indeed is the rapid growth of the fund due to the 
persistent, yet unobtrusive, labours of himself and 
his family. 
Next to Mr. Barron stands Mr. Peter E. Kay, 
of Finchley, a genial, kind-hearted man, in whom 
the gardening charities, and numerous other chari¬ 
table objects have a constant and generous supporter. 
Mr. Kay is a man of wide renown as a grower of 
fruit, and especially of Grapes, for market. He is 
indeed one of the magnates of the business, standing 
second to few in the extent of his cultivation, and 
second to none in the quality of it. He is perhaps 
the largest grower of the Cannon Hall Muscat in the 
world, and certainly he can never have been sur¬ 
passed in his success with this shy-setting but other¬ 
wise noble Grape. Mr. Kay’s vineyard is a thing to 
see and to dream of; it cannot be described here. 
The last name to be included in this list is that of 
Mr. Frank Todman, who was not one of the judges, 
but who, as the Messrs. Bertram’s able and courteous 
manager of the refreshment department, adminis¬ 
tered to the creature comforts of the judges on many 
occasions, and earned high encomiums from all. 
There were three other judges on the list, namely, 
Mr. Jaques, gardener to Baron Ferdinand de Roths¬ 
child, M.P. ; Mr. Smith, gardener to Lord Rosebery 
at Mentmore; and Mr. Wythes, gardener to the 
Duke of Northumberland, at Syon House, but they 
were not present when the photograph was taken at 
Earl’s Court by that skilful photographer, Mr. 
Vernon Kaye, of 4, Onslow Place, South Kensington. 
-■*-- 
STRATHALLAN CASTLE. 
The country seat of Viscount Strathallan is situated 
in West Perthshire, in one of the most lovely- 
portions of Strathearn, about mid-way between 
Stirling and Perth. Three approaches lead to the 
Castle. I entered at the southern one, which will 
be about a mile in length. The first part of the 
drive runs through a fine plantation, thickly wooded 
with Larch and Spruce, and as an undergrowth Rho¬ 
dodendron ponticum has been extensively planted, 
no doubt as cover for game. Emerging from the 
plantation the first peep of the Castle is seen. It is 
a commanding edifice, built of stone, which in the 
distance resembles the old red sandstone. Pursuing 
my journey towards the Castle I became enraptured 
with the huge monarchs of the wood that surrounded 
me on all sides. 
Standing in front of the Castle and looking north, 
a splendid view of the Grampian range of mountains 
is obtained, and on the south side some six miles 
distant are the Ochil Hills. The Castle is a modern 
structure of fine proportions, surrounded - by a 
velvety lawn, sloping terraces, sparkling fountains, 
and a rippling brook, all of which enhance the 
grandeur of the fine building. 
Moving onward through the pleasure grounds and 
shrubbery the kitchen garden is soon reached. This 
is enclosed by a stone wall, and trained up its sides 
are many choice varieties of Peach, Apricot, Plum, 
Apple, and Pear. Strathallan gardens have long 
been famed for their admirably trained fruit trees, 
and under the care of such an able and intelligent 
gardener as Mr. Fernie they are not likely to lose 
any of their reputation. On the outside of the wall 
there is a gravel walk running right round, on both 
sides of which there are splendid borders filled for 
the most part with small fruits, those with a south 
exposure are used for early Potatos, etc. At the 
time of my visit the kitchen garden was well stocked 
with all kinds of vegetables, the demand for them 
being very great, especially during the autumn. 
Numerous gravel walks run through the garden, and 
at each side are borders filled with herbaceous plants 
suitable for cutting purposes. 
A move is now made towards the houses, of which 
there are three Vineries, one Peach house, one stove, 
one greenhouse, and several pits. It could be seen 
at a glance in passing through that Mr. Fernie is a 
man of action more than of words ; considering the 
short time he has been gardener at Strathallan, it is 
simply marvellous the many improvements he has 
made. Still there are many more that he intends to 
carry out during the present winter, relaying of Box, 
widening of walks, etc. So ended my short and 
pleasant visit. Much more might be said about 
Strathallan gardens, but I am afraid that I have 
occupied too much space already.— J. McNab. 
-- 
Venice in London at Olympia —The ticket benefit 
in aid of the Gardeners' Orphan F'und, which we 
announced in our last issue, will take place during the 
next and following weeks. The tickets, which can be 
obtained from the leading nurserymen and seedsmen, 
from any member of the Executive Committee, or 
from Mr. Barron, Chiswick, will be identical with 
those sold at Olympia for similar amounts and entitle 
the holder to similar seats. Payments made at the 
doors will not benefit the fund, and we beg our 
friends to remember this. 
